


Sweet Talk and open hearts

by Serahne



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Don't worry, F/M, It's still fluffy though, M/M, Reposting of my Valentine's Day fic from tumblr, The first chapter is funny because Ko and Kuzuryu are hilarious, The second is a little more angsty because Pekoyama and Hinata aren't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 00:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9942167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serahne/pseuds/Serahne
Summary: “Kuzuryu breathes deeply and when he speaks again, he is very calm and his face stone-like. “Sorry Komaeda, but I can’t let you walk away like that. You know too much and I don’t trust you not to be a blabbermouth.”In which Kuzuryu doesn’t want to admit that he is brave, and Komaeda is good at demolding chocolates but that’s pretty much it.





	1. Avoidance

“Again” Komaeda asks, more demanding than he would be the rest of the time. But Hinata and him have been on the beach for more than an hour now, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun, letting the purple and pink shadows turns to orange to yellow, and the atmosphere is so peaceful that he almost forgets who he is, what he has done, and how he is really not in position to requires anything, especially from Hinata.

Hinata is laying on the sand next to him, eyes closed, almost like he is going to fall asleep any second, but Komaeda actually enjoys being able to look at him all he wants without worrying about being weird or scaring his friend - they are friends, right ? Hinata said they were - away. This morning specifically, he has the hardest time tearing his eyes away from the little stretch of golden skin between the edge of his pants and his T-shirt. He is almost mesmerized by it, both fascinated and a little scared by the want it creates in him.

“Alright” Hinata replies, without opening his eyes. “Go on, I got one.”

Komaeda nods, even if the other can’t see it. He pretends to focus, though it has nothing to do with logic. It’s all about luck, and that’s why it’s so important. He licks his lips and says :

“Two thousand and two”

“More” Hinata doesn’t miss a beat and the answer comes right away.

“Four thousands seven hundred nine” He says after a few seconds where he tries to read any indication that the other’s face could give away. He finds nothing. He buries his hands in the sand, appreciating the difference of feeling between his two hands.

“More”

“Six thousands ?” His tone is a lot less assured now.

Sometimes he wonders if Hinata is changing the number every turn, just so he can keep claiming that he is wrong. He knows deep down that it’s not true, but he has still a hard time to accept it anytime his luck is totally useless against Hinata. How easily it fails. The first times they tested it together, it was the most terrifying feeling : his luck has always been by his side. Good, bad, it doesn’t matter, it’s what defines him, and having it suddenly gone was…

… not something he was prepared for.

But it was months ago, now. His little sessions with Hinata has soon become his favorite part of his day, and the uneasiness he can still feel sometimes is nothing compared to the amazing feeling to be free, if only for a little while.

“I said less” Hinata says - or rather repeats. “You’re there ?”

Komaeda blinks and the world around him starts moving again. He looks at Hinata who is now sitting cross-legged, his posture all relaxed but his eyes open, inquisitive as they always are when they are focused on Komaeda. The sun-tanned skin he admired a moment ago has taken shelter under the fabric of his T-shirt and he takes a second to mourn it.

“Yeah” he mutters, turning his gaze toward the sea. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“It’s fine” Hinata shrugs it off. “I haven’t realize but it’s already late, anyway, everyone else must be up, even Saionji.” The dancer rarely wakes up before ten, and in the rare days when she does, she is in such mood that everyone else wishes that she didn’t. “You didn’t eat anything yet, right ?”

“Hum” Komaeda says because it’s kinda his thing, to forget to eat, and he knows it’s something that Hinata more or less monitors. “I wasn’t hungry.”

“Let’s go to the restaurant, I promised Koizumi to meet her at the hotel anyway.” With that, Hinata stands up and after a moment of hesitation, he holds his hand for Komaeda to take it, which he does, praying that Hinata will attribute his red cheeks to the heat.

The walk toward the restaurant is peaceful. Hinata is fully awake now, and is making small talk, wondering aloud if Koizumi wants to hire him to clean the whole place and jokingly begging for Komaeda to save him from this hell if that’s the case. Komaeda does his best to be a good audience, smiling and chuckling at the right time and trying to keep breathing normally anytime his arm grazes the other’s.

They barely put a food inside the grounds of the hotel that Tsumiki is running toward them, such horrified expression on her face that Komaeda almost believe that they are back in the simulation and that Monokuma is about to broadcast that a body has been discovered. The illusion disappears as soon as he imagined it, when he notices that the nurse is holding something behind her back, hiding it as much as possible.

“Ha, Hinata ! I tried to find you earlier but you weren’t in your cottage and I was worried that something happened to you !” she says, out-of-breath, red stains spreading on her pale cheeks. She throws an anxious look to Komaeda, who tries his best to keep his smile in place, for it’s not her fault that she would be suspicious of him.

“Good morning Tsumiki” Hinata waves his hand awkwardly at her, trying to be reassuring. “I’m sorry for worrying you, I’ve decided to take a walk around the island this morning, I didn’t know you were looking for me.”

Tsumiki’s eyes widens and she starts shifting from one foot to another, embarassed.

“Really ? I thought you would know that… well I gu-guess it doesn’t m-matter…” she stutters.

She gives another pointed look to Komaeda and he starts to wonder if she is trying to tell him something. And when he obviously doesn’t get it, she makes a distressed sigh and look at Hinata.

“Could I talk to you alone, please ?”

“Uh, I guess ? Sure.” He looks at Komaeda and offers him an apologetic smile. “Go on, I’ll catch you in one minute, alright ?”

As despicable as he is, he can’t help a sour feeling to spread through his whole body, even if Tsumiki deserves way more than him to spend some times with Hinata, and even if he already got their time on the beach.

So he walks to the restaurant, empty by now, and looks at the food on display : coffee and tea and a couple of juices, toasts and fried rice and eggs. It all smells nice and Teruteru’s food is always amazing, but it’s like he has a knot in his stomach and really doesn’t feel like eating right now. He barely realizes that he keeps looking at the door, wondering how long Hinata’s discussion with Tsumiki is going to take.

Ten minutes later Komaeda thinks that he should really starts eating or he is going to look stupid, standing in the middle of the restaurant after all this time where he should have done something. He reluctantly takes a plate and starts to put a toast on it, before daydreaming for a couple of minutes in front of the jams, as if his brain refused to chose which one he wants.

And suddenly…

_BAKLAM TADLAM FRAK._

And then, just after, someone screaming.

“OUCHFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK”

Surprised, Komaeda lets go of his plate, which shatters on the floor, and by a strike of bad luck, the toast on it slips under the table. Great. He looks around the restaurant, trying to find the noise’s source. Is there… someone in the kitchen ? No one goes into the kitchen except for Teruteru. He has forbidden anyone to enter it as soon as he woke up. And that didn’t sound at all like their cook.

He puts his head against the kitchen’s door hearing of bunch of faint metallic noises and after taking a deep breath, he lowers the handle and pushes.

“What do you think you’re doing ! Get out !” is the first thing that he hears once the door is open.

“Kuzuryu ?”

He frowns, taking in the scene in front of him. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, red-faced and furious, holding a wooden spoon and wearing what looks like an apron in the kitchen of the restaurant which has been turned into a huge mess - he suspects that the Ultimate Cook will have a heart attack upon seeing this. There are pots and pans all over the floor, and the noise Komaeda heard was probably the whole stock crashing down when he opened the cupboard where they were stocked. The weirdest thing is probably the brown powder scattered all over the place, especially Kuzuryu himself.

When he doesn’t move, the yakuza moves as threateningly as possible toward him, his eyes narrowed and the spoon he holds pointed in front of him as would be a weapon.

“Get out !” he spits and Komaeda realizes that he did something wrong, again, and he isn’t sure what it is, and he promised Hinata he would be careful with everyone and he really doesn’t want Kuzuryu to complain some more about him.

“Ah, I’m sorry Kuzuryu !” he pleads, his hands in front of him like a shield. “I didn’t know you were in there and…”

“Get the fuck out of there !” he repeats, louder, and Komaeda thinks that it’s not the best technique if he doesn’t want to attracts any unwanted attention. He bows slightly.

“I apologize, I’ll leave you alone for now” he smiles encouragingly, hoping that Kuzuryu will calm down. “It seems that you are on your way to make chocolates, and I wholly support you in this project”

He is about to get out when Kuzuryu’s hand catch his hoodie, putting brown stains all over it.

“Don’t. Move. An inch.” And he isn’t furious anymore, he is deadly. Even only armed with the spoon.

“Not that I would ever dare criticizing you” Komaeda says “but you are a little inconsistent in your orders. You should know that for someone like me, complicated reasoning is…”

“Shut the fuck up !” Kuzuryu breathes deeply and when he speaks again, he is very calm and his face stone-like. “Sorry Komaeda, but I can’t let you walk away like that. You know too much and I don’t trust you not to be a blabbermouth”.

“Me ?” Komaeda blinks and he wonders if he is about the get murdered. Maybe he’ll be lucky and Hinata will come rushing into the restaurant to save him, as humiliating as it seems, but maybe… maybe he is reading things wrong. Maybe it’s his time, after so many months leaving a peaceful existence, living with these people who went through so much despair and holds so much hope in their heart. His luck is bound to retaliate, so why not now ?

“I understand” he says. “If you want to kill me I would advocate against doing it here, really. I think somewhere near the beach would be easier if you want to get rid off my body easily and…”

He feels the wooden spoon hit him on the head and winces. Kuzuryu is rolling his eyes, annoyed.

“You keep quiet, you stay here until I’m done, and then I’ll let you out. I just don’t want to have you running all over the place saying people that I’m making chocolates. What would be the point then ?” he sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Oh. Kuzuryu closes the door behind them and after a second of hesitation, he blocks the handle with the only chair in the room, before going back to his pans. Not really sure what he is supposed to do, Komaeda sits on a table, near the room, as close as possible from the door, observing Kuzuryu looking through the cookware without any care and becoming ever more frustrated, until he cracks and kicks the fridge.

“Where the fuck is the thermometer ?” he mumbles and Komaeda perks up.

“If I can be of any help, I’m sure that my hand had a temperature sensor somewhere and…” he starts, eager to help the other with whatever he is doing.

“No.” Kuzuruyu replies without giving it a thought, his eyes fixated on the bowl where he mixed the cocoa powder with the butter and the sugar.

“But-” he tries again.

“I’m not putting your hand into Peko’s chocolates, don’t even try.”

Pekoyama…

“ You are doing it for Pekoyama ?” he asks, tilting his head on the side. He knows that Kuzuryu and Pekoyama have an interesting story. A story that was enough for both of them to want to die for the others in the simulation. He didn’t think he was wrong when he said that Kuzuryu was Pekoyama’s hope. What else could be so important enough for her to fight she way she had ?

Kuzuryu’s cheeks flush and he throws him a dirty look.

“Of course I’m doing it for Peko ! Who do you think I’m going to do Valentine’s chocolates for ? Even you can’t be that dense, right ?”

Valentine’s… It hits Komaeda like a brick. On the island, days go by without the need to keep track of the time. There is the wet season during summer, dry season during winter, and the rest is a blurry in-between. He knows some of them have a calendar or something, and Komaeda himself knows that it has been more than a month since the New Year and Hinata’s birthday, but beyond that…

And then he remembers Tsumiki and the way she wanted to talk to Hinata and the box behind her back and it just clicks.

“So that’s what Tsumiki wants to give Hinata” he mumbles for himself more than Kuzuryu. “Chocolates !”

Kuzuryu is busy glaring at the cooking plate.

“Yeah” he replies “I guess so. Didn’t know she wanted to give them to Hinata, but the girls came here earlier to steal all the stuff they needed to do their cooking” He seems incredibly angry with the idea that other people put more effort and started to do their gifts earlier than him. “I’m sure they are the one who stole the thermometer. Tsumiki, Koizumi, Sonia or I don’t know else. Or all of them, I have no clue how many of these shits we have here”.

Komaeda nods absentmindedly. The girls, thanks to Koizumi and Sonia, managed to create a great dynamic between them, and are generally way friendlier and ready to help each others than the boys, who are separated in many little groups where no one really talks to everyone, except for Hinata of course.

He can’t help it, he wonders if they also planned to give their gifts to Hinata.  - there is no doubt that he would deserve them, of course, he would congratulate them on their impeccable tastes - and almost miss Kuzuryu’s sigh. There are tears of frustration on the corner of his eyes and Komaeda thinks he looks miserable.

“I can’t do it” he says, dejectedly. “I can’t, I don’t have a fucking thermometer and I’m not going to be able to…”

“Does it matter ?” Komaeda asks, puzzled by the amount of emotions the yakuza is displaying right now. “You are a boy, you aren’t supposed to make theses.”

“I” and the other’s fists clench. “I wanted to be the one doing something for her, okay. For once, taking care of her, giving her a ounce of what I she gave me. I’m not even fucking able to cook these damn chocolates.”

He doesn’t really know what to answer, for he suspects that any advice or word of support would be badly received. He sticks to a noncommittal sound that Kuzuryu seems to accept more or less, and Komaeda takes a mental note to do that more often. Socialization is hard, but it can be learnt, he is sure of it.

“I’ve been a shitty guy with her since I woke up” he says.

“Humhum” replies Komaeda.

“I have my reasons” he keep talking. “I want her to be more than this weird girl behind me, I want her to have friends, real relationships, and anytime I have to push her away, anytime I lie to her saying I want to spend some times with _fucking Kazuichi_ instead of her…”

“Humhum” he says again.

It’s hard to take Kuzuryu seriously when he is covered in butter and cacao, but Komaeda knows that laughing would be a poorly choice right now. It’s hard to contain, though.

“The truth is… I’m a fucking coward.” He closes his eyes for a second. “I don’t know how to fix this. These years where I treated her like shit. I wish she was angry at me, I wish she hated me sometimes.”

“Humhum”

Kuzuryu turns around and glares at Komaeda.

“Will you stop with this shit ? I’m trying to let my feelings out there, if you didn’t get it ?” he says, looking incredibly pissed.

“Ah, sorry” Komaeda says, not knowing if this technique is really working anyway.

Kuzuryu shrugs. “Whatever. No idea why I told you this, it’s not like you understand this stuff.”

“Oh but I do !” he claims suddenly and for the first time Kuzuryu is looking at him with some cautious interest, as if he was giving him a chance, and Komaeda is glad to explain. “I love hope more than anyone, and I would do anything for it, and I know deep in my heart that I don’t deserve it, that no part of it is mine so…”

“Yeah right, whatever” and Kuzuryu is back at looking at him with badly hidden contempt and he isn’t sure what he did wrong. He racks through his brain, trying to find anything that could help the Ultimate in front of him. And then… “I have an idea !” he says “I have Koizumi’s cottage keys. I’m sure we could go and see if she got a thermometer, right ?”

“How the hell did you get her keys ?” the other asks, suspecting something foul.

“She gave it to me, a long time ago” Komaeda says, trying to not say too much about it. He is sure Koizumi doesn’t even remember giving him the key but he kept it, just in case, and he doesn’t see the problem with helping Kuzuryu this way.

The yakuza opens his mouth to reject the idea - he can see it - but after an anxious look at the preparation, he sighs and throws his arms in the air in an over-dramatic gesture that seems a little half-hearted. “Fuck it” he says “Yeah, sure, whatever, let’s do this. And if we see Peko…”

Komaeda makes the ‘zip’ move over his lips and Kuzuryu nods before taking away the chair from the door and stepping outside.

The walk to Koizumi’s cabin is a weird one. Kuzuryu keeps being paranoid over every noise or shadow, even though no one seems to be there besides Owari, who is swimming in the pool and barely gives them any attention. Once it’s clear that no one is going to see them, he starts worrying over someone entering the kitchen while they aren’t in there.

“I swear if they stole my chocolates” he says, threat obvious in his voice.

“Humhum” lets out Komaeda before he can help it and he thinks he deserves it when Kuzuryu steps on his foot.

Koizumi’s cabin is very tidy, very-well arranged with flowers and a delicate fragrance sweetening the air, which Komaeda suspects to be the chocolate’s. On the desk, he notices a crumpled sheet of paper with ‘Happy Valentine’s day Hajime’ on it, the ‘Hajime’ part crossed out. Ah. He wonders if she gave them to Hinata already and he wonders how Hinata reacted. He knows he was probably very kind to Tsumiki - he tends to be nicer to her than to other people and explained Komaeda that he felt sad for her sometimes and he understands - but what about Koizumi ? Was he kind to her too, not because he feels guilty or sad, but because Koizumi is a wonderful person who took his place as their leader just after the simulation, once she woke up and found out how exhausted he was.

He hopes he is kind to her. He hopes he returns her affection and find happiness with each others, because that’s the perfect fit, right ?

“It’s there” Kuzuryu says, picking something from the bathroom’s sink. “She already washed it, good.” He looks around the room, taking in the different utensils that she used to do his chocolates. “Don’t know if there is anything that we could use, there ?” Komaeda scans the room, not saying anything that they didn’t have already in the kitchen until…

“The baking tins” he suggests.

“Don’t bother, we already got those” Kuzuryu replies, and Komaeda bites his lips.

“There are animals, right ? Cats, it looks like ?” It’s hard to see with that kind of thing. “Rabbits maybe ?”

A second later, the yakuza is examining the tins too, eyes wides. When he looks at him again, he has a small but sincere smile on his lips. There is no thank you or acknowledgement but Komaeda feels sparks of happiness inside his stomach. After doing everything wrong, he finally did something right, and he resists his first impulse to give the benefit of it to his luck - Hinata would be proud.

*

Ten minutes later, they are back in the kitchen, the door blocked again thanks to their faithful chair and Kuzuryu doesn’t stop looking at the thermometer, waiting for the right temperature to add some butter before putting the preparation into the baking tins. The yakuza seems in a better mood than before.

“I hope she’ll like them” he repeats, for the ninth times in eight minutes, and it displeases Komaeda badly that he can’t use his noncommittal sounds anymore.

“I’m sure she’ll be happy with anything you give her” he says because he feels that it’s the truth ( Pekoyama seems to enjoy even looking at Kuzuryu if he can believe the way her face relaxes when he is nearby ), but also because it seems like something he should say.

“Yeah, well, I don’t want ‘anything’ okay, it’s like the first gift I’ve ever given her so I want it to be nice” he replies, not annoyed enough to tear his gaze from his cooking. “As I said, I have a lot of shit to compensate for. Let’s start with it.”

“Putting so much energy in your work is really worthy of an Ultimate like you” Komaeda smiles brightly. “You are very brave, really.”

“Brave ?” Kuzuryu looks at him as if he is crazy. “How is it fucking brave ? I’m doing chocolates and I even don’t want you to run your mouth before I’m done with because I feel ashamed of doing this shit. She is brave, you can say that. Not me.”

Komaeda taps his lips with his robotic fingers, trying to make sense of what Kuzuryu said.

“I don’t think so” he ends up by saying. “I don’t think Pekoyama was really brave, for it was an obvious thing in her eyes that her life wasn’t worthy a thousandth of yours, really. Doesn’t being brave imply some potential sacrifice ? I don’t think she considers her life as something of worth, while yours is…” he stops when he notices that Kuzuryu’s hands are shaking and that he still doesn’t ask him to stop talking. “Are you alright ?”

Only silence answers him.

“You are” he eventually manages to say “A fucking pain in the ass, you know that ?”

Oh, look at that, he did Wrong again. Kuzuryu doesn’t stop trembling. He stays focused on the chocolate in front of him so Komaeda can’t see his face, but he wonders if he is crying. Probably not, it would be pretty unfit for the Ultimate Yakuza.

“I know” Kuzuryu says again. “I know that, okay. I know that I could do anything to her and she wouldn’t care. She doesn’t think it would matter. And I don’t know what to do about it, I don’t know how to fix it.”

Komaeda abstains to add anything this time.

“Sometimes I see her talk with other people. Sonia, and Hinata and Tanaka.” There is bitterness in his voice. “And I’m fucking jealous, because they have the chance to build something real with her, you know. With no ‘master’ bullshit. She does what I say, she pretends it’s not there, between us, but it is, and I know I’m fucking selfish because I prefer having this between us than nothing.” He looks at Komaeda. “I swear to god if you start rambling about hope again, I kill you. Some of us have actual feelings, you know. For other people.”

Komaeda laughs. “Haha, you got me !” and he is happy that Kuzuryu isn’t looking at his face.

“Yeah” mumbles Kuzuryu. “Sorry to be a fucking jerk but I’d rather destroy myself over our relationship that being you. But I don’t hate you, when you shut the fuck you’re okay, and you found the tins for Peko. Kinda feel sorry for you, to be honest” He shrugs.

“I’m honored, thank you very much.” Komaeda says.

“It’s more an insult than anything else, but it’s not like you give a shit about these stuff so, uh.”

Komaeda does his “humhum” sound and hopes that it annoys Kuzuryu but he doesn’t have the time to get a reaction because…

_BANG BANG BANG_

Someone is pushing the door with all their might, testing the chair’s resistance. Startled, Kuzuryu looks at him but he doesn’t see what they can do : the kitchen is rather small, with no place to hide except for under the table and it’s a pretty terrible shelter.

“Is someone in there ?” It’s Hinata’s voice and suddenly without reason, Komaeda’s heart starts to run wild.

He stays silent, unmoving, praying that the chair will save him ( he isn’t even sure from what exactly, Hinata is his friend, he isn’t dangerous ). He hears some conversation on the other side of the door, a girl, probably Saionji or Koizumi asking him to not break down the door, and he quietly thanks them.

After a few more seconds and a couple of lesser ‘bangs’, Hinata is gone, and Kuzuryu looks like he can breath again.

“I swear” he whispers. “I need to be done with this as soon as possible.” and he starts to add the butter with a newfound determination.

“Do you think Peko made some chocolates too  ?” Komaeda asks, trying to forget about his racing heart.

“No.” he starts by saying. And then. “I don’t know, maybe, it doesn’t seem like her but maybe the girls helped her to do something, hard to say.  I would be glad to accept them of course and…”

“What if” Komaeda cuts him off “they aren’t for you. What if they are for another guy. Tanaka. Hinata. Someone else ?”

At first he doesn’t think Kuzuryu will answer, with how closed off his face is. But he does, even if his shaking hands are making it hard for him to pour the preparation into the baking tins.

“I’ll be happy” he says and unlike his hands, his tone is firm, he is sure of himself. “I’ll be happy because that means that she is starting to make something for herself. That she is getting back what my family stole from her. I want her to be happy, and if she was with me, I’d never know if she is happy or if she feels like her whole life is revolving around me anyway and she can’t imagine anything else. If she was with someone else, I would be sure that she is happy. That she wants that.” And there is a genuine smile on his lips, as if the concept of Pekoyama happy was the most amazing thing in the whole universe.

“You care a lot about her” he decides, and Kuzuryu laughs at that.

“Yes, you could say that. I wish you knew how that was, it’s hard to talk to you about stuff like that.”

“I care about all of you and I want you to feel happiness and hope” he corrects him, because he is somehow annoyed by Kuzuryu treating him as an unfeeling machine. “I would gladly do anything for your happiness. As symbols of hope, you deserve it.”

“Okay” Kuzuryu replies, and Komaeda is starting to get frustrated with him.

“It’s true” he says again. “I know you don’t think it’s real or anything, but it’s important. For me. For everyone, but for me too.”

“I believe you” the other answers, and he doesn’t seem mean or angry, but somehow Komaeda gets the feeling that he doesn’t believe him.

Silence falls over the kitchen while Kuzuryu finishes pouring the chocolate and throws a look to the rest of the preparation.

“I did way too much of this stuff.” He shows the half-full pan to Komaeda. “You want to use it ? Make some chocolate for anyone - Hinata maybe, I’m sure he won’t have enough of theses at the end of the day.” There is a smile in his voice, a joke, but Komaeda chokes on his saliva at the sole mention that he would do something like that.

“Ah ! No it would be really embarrassing, I don’t think it’s something that I should do !” he blurts out without thinking, closing his eyes as to protect himself from this scenario.

“Uh” Kuzuryu says and when he looks at him, he is gazing at Komaeda with a strange light in his eyes. “I was kidding, you know. With all the girls giving him their Valentine’s chocolates.”

“It was a joke !” exclaims Komaeda, and then he chuckles. “Of course it was ! It was a very good joke, Kuzuryu, please forgive me for not getting it right away !” When Kuzuryu doesn’t answer but keep looking at him strangely, he shifts uncomfortable on the table where he is sitting. “Ah, is there something on my face ?”

“No” Kuzuryu says. “Whatever. I’m not going there. Just saying, the other baking tins are there if you want to use them. And for all the brave talk from before, you are the ‘do what I say not what I do’ kind of guy, you know ? Shouldn’t really surprise me, when I think about that.”

“Is it still a joke ?” Komaeda asks and Kuzuryu’s glare makes him smile. “I’m sorry. My observations from earlier where only about a worthy human-being offering a romantic gift to another gifted person. It has very little to do with someone like me doing the same thing.”

“Thing is you’re the only one who makes a separation between these two kinds of ‘person’” the other answers. “In the real world there is only one kind of person, and you’re included too, as weird as you are. Believe me, Hinata isn’t going to spit on you if you give him something, I swear to god.” and he rolls his eyes.

He can’t do better than offering him a tense smile. Of course Hinata would be nice, it’s Hinata, he wouldn’t expect anything else. He would smile at him, and says ‘thank you Komaeda, I’m sure they’re delicious Komaeda’, and then he would put the chocolates in his room, next to the others, and then he would think that he doesn’t understand the difference between being grateful and something else. He would feel sorry, he would think ‘Ah, Komaeda is so pathetic, I spend some time with me and he falls in love’ and it wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t followed by ‘i better spend less time with him, I don’t want him to think it’s possible’ because he wouldn’t understand that Komaeda would never, never think that at all. And they have such good relationship now. Komaeda learnt what words made Hinata angry ( anything self-depreciating, or about Enoshima ) and the one he liked ( whenever he pretended to forget the gap between us and started to criticize him or even insult him, when he talked positively about the others, too ), he knew how to be sure that Hinata would give him his time, by quietly, subtly, being his pathetic self and forcing him to be with him if he doesn’t want to feel guilty.

He was a terrible human being who sucked someone else’s hope, knowing that it was wrong but doing it anyway.

“I know he would be nice” he says, and his words barely come out with how tight his throat is. “That’s just the kind of person Hinata is. And because he is so nice, I have no right to bother him with something as stupid as this.”

“This ?” repeats Kuzuryu. “Feelings you mean ? For how much you love to talk about hope and how great it is, you are just as terrible as us when it comes to real stuff, right ?”

“Hope is real.” he argues.

“Alright.”

Komaeda turns toward him, frustrated. “Stop doing it !”

He isn’t exactly ready for the teasing smile that Kuzuryu gives him. “It’s super annoying, hum ? Here, takes some of your own medicine !”

And he really can’t help but laugh at that.

*

After thirty minutes, the spoon is licked, the kitchen almost looks like something again, and the chocolates are ready in the fridge. Komaeda leaves his table to help Kuzuryu with the demolding - it quickly appears that the one Komaeda is doing end up miraculously intact while Kuzuryu seems unable to take out one without breaking it.

He is putting them into a box, very carefully. At some point he comes across one of the worst ones - it barely looks like an animal at all. He taps Komaeda’s shoulder and presents him the cursed sweet.

“I’m not giving this to Peko. Here, take it.” he says.

“Me ?” Komaeda takes the chocolate, with way more care than needed for the state it’s in.

“Yeah, you.” The yakuza says. It’s a thank you. And a sorry too, for forcing you to stay here, I guess ?”

“It’s alright, it was a pleasure being detained by the Ultimate Yakuza” he claps his hands with enthusiasm. “Made the experience very… authentic.”

He eats the chocolate and his eyes widens.

“It’s actually very good !” he says.

“Eh, of course it is, who do you think I am ? Happy Valentine’s Day, and it’s not too late for, you know. The other stuff.”

“I’ll keep you wise advice in mind” Komaeda says, and he is trying to sound grateful but Kuzuryu’s look makes it obvious that it didn’t work

“Great, do that.”

There is a moment where Kuzuryu realizes that he is going to have to leave the room and find Pekoyama and give them these chocolates, and his face turns pale. He looks at Komaeda.

“Wish me good luck.” Then he looks pretty horrified by this. “No, nevermind, I don’t want it.”

“It’s alright, Kuzuryu. You don’t need luck for this, that’s what I believe” he says.

“Oh shut up”

But he smiles, and somehow, Komaeda is pretty sure it was what he was supposed to say, and he can’t help but be satisfied when Kuzuryu finally exits the kitchen, leaving him there behind. After spending so much time in the kitchen, he almost doesn’t want to come out to see Hinata who received all these delicious gifts, and people who don’t really like him and who are right to not like him, but he knows he will because if he isn’t brave, he has, at least, hope, and he wants to see Kuzuryu’s shines brighter than the sun or explodes to become a black hole of despair. In both cases, it’s a very interesting sight waiting for Komaeda to observe it.

He kind of hopes for the first case to be true, and he wonders what that means.


	2. Encounter

Hinata’s day starts way too early, at around 3 AM when Saionji comes knocking on his door, not even offering him the possibility to be angry at her, for she is trembling like a leaf, dry sobs shaking her frail body. And more importantly, she keeps repeating that Koizumi is dead, and the she has seen her, and that it is her fault, no it is Kuzuryu’s fault, and she keeps blabbering for almost a whole minute before Hinata manages to reconnect his brain and starts to do the right thing.

That is to say, not pointing out that she could have barged into Koizumi’s room instead of his, patting awkwardly her shoulder, and offering her some flowery tea that she barely touches at the end. They talk a little after that - it’s always taxing, talking with her, for she is more guarded than a vault - and when her eyelids starts to fall over her eyes, he gently suggests that she should go back to bed.

“Yeah” she says, uncharacteristically compliant. “I guess so. You should sleep too, your face looks like shit.”

After that going back to bed is… difficult. He keeps drifting in and out of sleep, until around nine where he finally thinks he could be able to take a nap, at least. And then someone starts banging on his door, and this someone turns up to be Koizumi, apparently there to command him to be in the lobby at 11, and _please for god’s sake don’t be late_. Then she says something like ‘Mikan’s is looking for you’ and Hinata decides that it is way too many thing, way too early in the morning and that he needs to wake up Komaeda and to take a break.

He almost feels guilty, especially after what Koizumi had just done to him earlier, when his friend appears behind the door’s frame, swimming in his green pajama and rubbing his sleepy eyes in a way that some people - including Hinata, he isn’t going to lie to himself about it - could qualify of ‘adorable’.

“Hi-Hinata !” In one second, the other is wide awake, and fumbling all over the place “What are you doing there ?”

“Care for a walk ? I wanted to spend a little time at the beach” Hinata says, not really answering his question but ‘I want to avoid everyone and I don’t know if it’s your luck or just you, but people don’t bother me when I’m in your company’ sounds pretty awful. Komaeda just looks at him, blinking a couple of times as if his brain was trying to register what he is saying. Hinata throws a look around, a little worried that people are going to catch them before they leave the hotel.

“Come on” he says, searching for something that could motivate Komaeda into leaving the comfort of his cabin “We could test your luck a little, if you want ?”

Komaeda runs a hand through his hair, grimacing when his fingers gets stuck in the knots. Finally the light appears in his eyes and he nods at Hinata.

“Yes, of course I want to go with you. Can I…” he gives a hesitant look at Hinata “dress myself before ?”

Hinata wants to laugh at that, but he is tired so he only smiles.

“It’s up to you, green suits you.”

He is pretty sure he isn’t imagining Komaeda’s blush when he turns around and run away toward his bathroom, and despite no one being here to see it, he is unable to stop smiling.

They go to the beach, find a warm place for Hinata to lay on, and for the first time in many days he is just fine, free to forget about the time, to forget the headaches, the nightmares, his friends who need him and the whole world that they somehow destroyed, and it’s nice. He closes his eyes and would probably fall asleep, if Komaeda wasn’t there, pressing him to think about numbers, gasping quietly whenever he guesses wrong, becoming always more hesitant every time he makes a mistake.

He enjoys to see how far they’ve come since the first time they tested Komaeda’s luck, two days only after he woke up. It was early, sure, but Komaeda is such resilient person who never seems affected by anything, and Hinata had thought that understanding that his luck wouldn’t control his life anymore would help him even more.

Right. Komaeda had collapsed, shaking, in the middle of the infirmary, and the only time he had ever seen such terrified face on him before was in the simulation, when they had found his tortured corpse.

He really doesn’t want to see him with this face again. Never.

“Again” Komaeda asks when he is too slow to come up with something new, and his tone is demanding, almost arrogant and Hinata feels the warmth of sun pierces his skin and spreads through his body. They are doing well and maybe that’s the lack of sleep or the strange mood he is in since the middle of the night, but it makes him almost giddy.

“Alright, I got one !” He quickly comes up with a new number. Five thousands thirty-four.

Of course it can’t last. Beyond the limits of the beach, clocks are ticking, people are talking, life is happening and Koizumi is sharpening a kitchen knife, just in case he is late to his meeting with her. He still can’t help himself to be a little selfish, to run behind this feeling of peace that he can’t get enough of and corners Komaeda until he accepts to come with him to the restaurant. He isn’t lying : the guy needs food and Hinata really doesn’t like this new habit he picked up to not eat in the morning.

It’s so predictable that it’s almost funny, but the first thing he hears after putting a foot in the hotel is his name, screamed by a distressed Tsumiki who is running and tripping toward him. It’s an understatement that their nurse can be a little over-emotional, but he is still worried to see her at the verge of a break down. She is also holding  something behind her back, something that she doesn’t want Komaeda to see, though he isn’t sure why exactly.

“Are you alright ?” he asks, once they are alone, and he can’t help but watch Komaeda to be sure that he is going to the restaurant to eat something. Tsumiki nods frantically, a little less agitated now that it’s only the two of them.

“Do you remember” she says, and her voice is like a little bird’s squeal “when you told me about your nightmares ?”

“Yes, you told me there wasn’t anything stronger than what I already used, right ?” Hinata replies, not really sure where she is going with it.

“W-well” she stutters “I managed to g-get in touch with one of the m-members of Future Foundation… and she is a pharmacist, and she may have helped me to create a new drug ?” Tsumiki is barely able to look at Hinata at this point. “I… uhm, I tested it myself so there is no problem but it’s very strong so I hesitated a little before giving it to you and…” she reveals the bag that she was hiding and offers it to Hinata who slowly takes it.

“That’s…” and Tsumiki is anxiously waiting for his next words but really, all he feels is gratefulness for the shaking girl in front of him “… amazing, Tsumiki ! I can’t believe you did all that for me. You are really an amazing nurse !”

“Ah… don’t say that Hinata” she is so red that he is sure that she is going to combust in the next minute. “It’s just what I’m good at…” she sighs. “I didn’t know if you wanted Komaeda to know about your nightmares, I’m sorry for sending him away, I hope he’ll forgive me but I thought…”

He smiles at her, as reassuring as possible.

“It’s alright, I don’t think he will see anything wrong with you being such professional !”

“Heeeeerk” she hides her burning face behind her hands and Hinata is sure that he sees some smoke coming out of his ears.

As entertaining as it is to torture her, he decides to have some mercy and to go to the restaurant, just to make sure that his friend isn’t just standing there, doing nothing when he should be eating whatever he wants. He waves at Tsumiki but when he is about the walk away, she suddenly calls him :

“I forgot Hinata ! Koizumi told me that she wouldn’t be able to see you this morning uh… something came up ?” she seems hesitant.

“Something… is everything alright ?” He knows Koizumi is the most organized and resourceful person and she is able to take whatever is coming at her, but that seems polite to at least, ask.

“Well, it’s hard to say.” says Tsumiki “The thing is… everyone… every girls, we were in Owari’s room to make our chocolates, but Koizumi wasn’t there and I’m not sure how but Mioda and Sonia were the only one taking care of the chocolates at some point and…”

“Oh no” Hinata says, knowing that the rest of the story isn’t going to be a nice one.

“Well, yes” and Tsumiki bravely keeps talking “But then I think Kazuichi heard the girls scream and…”

“Oh no” Hinata says again, and he suddenly understands the nurse’s agitation.

“Anyway” she finishes. “Everyone is in Sonia’s room now and Koizumi doesn’t want a boy in there so… I’m sorry, Hinata, it’s not against you at all it’s just… a general precaution ?”

Hinata chuckles at that. “Don’t worry, you do what you do, I’ll see Koizumi later. I admit I’m a little curious to know why all of you decided to make chocolate today, though. Especially in someone’s room when we have something called a kitchen not that far away ?”

“Oh, there is no mystery here !” Tsumiki says. “Teruteru doesn’t want us all inside at the same time, even though he was nice enough to lend us his utensils since it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Hinata needs to stop at that. Wow, Valentine’s Day. He… totally forgot about that. Maybe because before the Tragedy it was never something that he really cared about. Not only had he never received chocolates - which he tried to not be upset about since he wasn’t interested in anyone and it would have been nothing more than a ego stroke - but he found this tradition pretty… silly, as a whole.

Not that he would tell that to any of the girls on the island.

“Right, Valentine’s Day” he says, more to himself, before focusing on the nurse. “Anyway, thanks for telling me, it’s great to know that we can all count on you, Tsumiki !”

“Hinaaaataaa” she whines, predictably, and then, way more forceful and almost angry “stop doing that !”

She runs away toward Sonia’s cabin, and Hinata stays there for a few seconds, watching her disappear, until he decides to go to the restaurant, where Komaeda should still be. But at the moment where this thought comes to him, he hears another voice calls him.

“Hinata, would you have a moment, please ?” and when he turns around, he isn’t surprised to find Pekoyama, as dignified as ever even though she let her hair down. For a reason he has noticed that she tends to do that from time to time, the days where she hasn’t planned to train, contrasting with the serious, military braiding that she compelled herself to do back in the simulation, or even just after she woke up.

“Pekoyama” he greets her. “Did you want something ?”

She hesitates a second, and for a terrifying moment, maybe because of the discussion he just had with Tsumiki, he thinks that she is going to confess or something, and while it would be incredibly flattering, he doesn’t want to become a rival for the Ultimate Yakuza.

But then he realizes that it’s stupid. He has nothing against her, and she has nothing against him, but saying that they are close would be a lie. Pekoyama is the quiet kind, even if she started to talk a little more - mainly to people who refuses to get ignored like Mioda or Saionji.

“Well” she says, impassive. “Yes. I would like some help to make chocolates, if you are available now. I’m afraid I have a very limited knowledge in the matter. Spending your life training and fighting doesn’t let you a lot of time to develop other abilities.”

Choco…

“For Valentine’s Day ?” he asks, and when she purposely avoids his eyes. “For Kuzuryu, right ? It makes sense.” He is actually happy that she would make this kind of move, as cheesy it may seem. Especially since he knew Kuzuryu wouldn’t care, he would probably drink a whole bottle of milk if Pekoyama was the one who offered it to him.

“As a thank you for the support he is giving me” she says, and Hinata imagines that she is almost defensive. “I thought it could be a good idea.”

“Sure. But aren’t the other girls already making chocolates ? Not that I don’t want to help you, but you could ask them, right ?” He says, even though he isn’t lying : it’s actually something he is pretty happy to help with. After using his talents to spread chaos and despair, he enjoys the delicious irony to use them to spread love and make candies.

Pekoyama shrugs. “I’m not sure how to qualify what’s happening in Sonia’s room right now, but I’m happy to not be a part of it.”

“I can see that.” Though hearing so much about it, he really has the impression that the girls managed to open a portal to Hell or something. “And yes, of course I’ll help you. You have all the ingredients, right ? In the kitchen ?”

“I have everything ready” Pekoyama says “In my room. I thought it would be better than the kitchen. Thank you for helping me.”

“No problem.”

The walk toward Pekoyama’s cottage is both very short and very long. The silence between them stretches, and while the swordswoman doesn’t seem bothered by it, Hinata is racking in brain, hoping to find something to say.

“It’s very nice to do that for Kuzuryu” That sounds like a neutral thing to say “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it”.

Pekoyama frowns and he almost thinks that she isn’t going to answer.

“I hope so” she says, and that’s the end of the conversation.

Alright then.

Pekoyama’s room is incredibly tidy and clean, with very little personal effects besides her weapons and a pile of book near her bed. Contrary to most of them, she doesn’t have any pictures of her family of friends before the Tragedy on the wall. Probably because she never had any family or friends at this time.

He really hopes she does, now, in a way.

In a corner of the room, a little kitchen has been installed, with two cooking plates, a couple of pans, a thermometer and everything they need to make the chocolate : cocoa butter, cacao powder, etc…

“Alright” Hinata says. “Do you have a recipe or something ? I don’t think I’ve ever done something like that.”

“Do you need it ?” she asks, surprised. “I thought that since you had all these talents…”

“Oh ! No, I mean yes” It’s always a little embarrassing to talk about his talents. He isn’t really sure how to explain that he his the Ultimate Cook and the Ultimate Chocolatier, even though he never cooked anything more complicated than instant noodles. It’s unnatural, it’s not how it’s supposed to be, and that makes sense that Pekoyama wouldn’t understand it. “I’ll be able to do it, but I need a recipe to know what I’m supposed to do. You know ?”

The other nods slowly and takes a sheet of paper from her pocket.

“I’ve asked Hanamura for it” she says.

Hinata takes a few seconds to read the paper and it’s like something in his brain clicks. So easy it’s almost boring, really.

No, not boring. Helping your friend is not boring, it’s great.

“I’m flattered that you would trust me over Hanamura” he smiles at Pekoyama. “I’m sure he could have helped you.”

“I know he is a dear friend for all of you” she says “I’m sure him being hurt would have made you unhappy.”

Oh, alright then.

“Let’s start ?” he suggests. “It’s not that complicated, you know. Let’s melt the butter with a water-bath, and then we add the cacao powder, okay ?”

Pekoyama nods eagerly. “I wanted to do something special so I have pecans just there, if it’s possible to add them to the chocolates ?”

“Hum” he glances at the pecans, they are maybe a little too big for basic chocolates. “We need to break them in bits and pieces if you want it to be possible. You can do that if you want, while I’m taking care of the butter ?”

“Alright.”

They work together in silence, Pekoyama being methodical and careful, as expected of her. Her strikingly red eyes are focused on her task and he thinks that she could very well be alone.

“You know, you would have been able to do these yourself. You seem able to follow instructions.” he notices.

“I would have done myself if you had declined” she replies, without looking at him. “But I wanted to do the things properly. I woke up early, around 6, to be sure i would get everything I need from the kitchen, and I’ve asked Kirigiri to give me these pecans the last time they visited.”

“You are amazing.”

One difference between Pekoyama and Tsumiki is the lack of reaction of the first one when he says that. She barely raises an eyebrow, as if there was nothing praise-worthy in what she was doing, and this is one of these moments where Hinata realizes that everyone in this island has some crazy self-loathing problems going on, and they don’t even have an Ultimate Therapist around.

Though he supposes that he is an Ultimate Therapist, but as long as no one forces him to do that, he’ll pass on the job, thank you very much.

“I’m not kidding” he keeps going “You are doing your best so that Kuzuryu will be happy, that’s some dedication there.”

“Dedication ?”

The way she says the words alarms him in some way and when he looks at her she isn’t crushing the nuts anymore, and her jaw is as tense as the rest of her being. She spits the word as if it was trash, and he is definitely bad at compliments, uh ?

“I mean that he is lucky to have your affection” he tries again “that’s all. Some people don’t care that much. You do, and it’s great.”

She seems to calm down a little but doesn’t go back to her work, her eyes empty, as if she was lost in thoughts. Hinata observes her from the corner of his eyes, not daring to interrupt her for now.

“Is he ?” she mutters after a long moment, and Hinata needs to reconnect the question with what he just said. He is lucky to have your affection.

“What do you mean ?”

She shakes her head but Hinata can’t just unsee or unhear Pekoyama’s fragility and after everything they’ve been through, he is doing his best to face everything he would have run away from years ago.

“You do know that Kuzuryu is…” he bites his tongue, because if his friend hadn’t confessed yet, it’s not his role to do it “you know that he cares about, right ?”

She doesn’t answer, but he thinks he sees her posture straightens even more. She is tense, and he hopes he won’t get hit but…

“God, Pekoyama, you saw everything that happened in the Neo World Program and…”

“Hinata.” She cuts him off, polite but forceful at the same time. “I do understand that you want to use your talent as therapist, but I would like you to not experiment on me. I don’t want to be rude, but you have very little insight in this matter.”

So closed off, he thinks. Almost aggressively so, if that’s possible. But she still hasn’t hit him, which is a good sign.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Care to explain to me ?” and he thinks that if she is still reluctant to talk after it, he will shut up and focus his attention on the chocolates.

She stays silent for a while, and Hinata concludes that she really doesn’t want to talk about it. Alright, he tried, at least. But then…

“I just” she says, and the words come out with such difficulty, such emotion, that Hinata is taken aback. “I just don’t know what to do. This ( she vaguely points out at the pecans she so carefully took care of ) is not enough, I know that, but that’s the only thing I could think of.”

Hinata thinks that she is barely breathing.

“What to do ?” he asks. “About what ? Kuzuryu ?”

She nods.

“He is avoiding me” and when he opens his mouth to say something, she cuts him off “I know why he is doing this, I’m not an idiot. He thinks it’s better for me, for us. That I should spend more time with Sonia gushing about TV shows I’ve never watched or with Tsumiki talking about medical procedures. Or with you I guess.”

Hinata tries to not feel insulted, fails, and then realizes it doesn’t really matter. It’s about Pekoyama right now. He feels a little guilty that he never had a talk with her before, but she is quite intimidating and it was so much easier to pretend that she was fine.

As if anyone on this island was fine.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I have no idea how to change this situation. It's frustrating. Knowing what he wants me to do but not finding a way to do it.”

“I see…” he says “I don’t really know what to tell you besides that you need to talk to him. But if I may take a guess, he is just scared by what happened in the simulation. I would be if someone had killed, died and tried to kill everyone for me. It’s just not… what you are supposed to feel for someone else.”

He bites his lower lip, as to stop the next words to come out. They are bitter - he isn’t surprised.

“It’s not a feeling you should have for anything, really.”

She snaps, far away from his new-found melancholy “It’s not something I can control, can I ? Didn’t he try the same thing toward me ? How is it fair for him to put me above everything else if I’m not allowed to do the same.”

“Do you like it ?” he asks, curious. “I mean, the fact that he would be ready to die for you, is it a nice idea for you ?”

Pekoyama’s face flushes. She turns around, definitely avoiding Hinata’s gaze.

“In a way” she says.

“In a way ?”

“The fact that he thinks that makes me happy” she clarifies. “Of course, I would always stop him to do something so foolish. I will always be able to put his life over mine no matter the situation, of that I’m confident.” And her tone is so firm that Hinata has no doubt that she would. Even with Komaeda’s luck to back him up, he wouldn’t bet against Peko Pekoyama.

“You’re too strong” he says without thinking. “It’s funny.”

“Is it ?” She is glaring at him, daring him to continue.

He just smiles.

“That’s the thing, right ? I’m not pretending to understand everything you’ve been through. Until recently you weren’t even a subordinate… you were a weapon ( Pekoyama tilts her head as if the topic made her uncomfortable ). But you are so damn stronger than Kuzuryu.”

“What are you…” she says, but Hinata keeps going.

“You are so strong and he knows that you are absolutely capable to go through any plan to save his life at the sacrifice of yours. Hell, Pekoyama, that’s exactly what you did. It’s easy for you to be happy, thinking that he would want to save you over him, it’s another story when it’s actually a possibility, you know ? What if Kuzuryu could save your life over his ?”

She rolls her eyes.

“It doesn’t make any sense, I will always…”

“Just think, Pekoyama.” he says.

She thinks, he can feel it. She seems lost for a while and then frowns.

“I don’t know” she ends up by saying. “… I think I wouldn’t feel good.”

He sighs. Well, that’s the beginning of something.

“But it’s not like I could be less strong than I am… I mean I could lie, I suppose” she mumbles. “I don’t think he would be happy with me lying to him.”

Hinata shakes his head.

“He lo… likes you the way you are. Don’t try to change.”  It’s cheesy but she accepts his advice with gravity and a short bow.

“Thanks for using your talents of Ultimate Counselor on me.” She says.

“Uh, you’re welcome” She is deadly serious but it almost sounds like a joke when she says it like that. “And you know, I don’t know a lot about this stuff, but as far as complicated a relationship can be between two people… liking someone too much isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Just saying.”

She stays quiet while he adds the butter in the chocolate, and then checks the temperature to know when to put them into the baking tin.

After a few minutes, Pekoyama looks solemnly at the little kitchen she installed in her room.

“So, are chocolates okay ?” she says.

He smiles.

“Yeah. It is.”

*

Their plan is to put the chocolates into the kitchen’s fridge, but despite his best effort, he doesn’t manage to open the kitchen’s door.

“Do you want me to try, Hinata ?” Pekoyama says.

“Nah, it’s fine, Hanamura is going to be pissed if we destroy the door.” He tries a last time, pushing as strong as he can, but it seems that it’s locked from inside and that whoever is there doesn't want to open it. “There is a fridge in the supermarket, it will do, right ?”

Pekoyama nods and they both hurry, saluting Owari who is sunbathing in her bikini despite the relatively cold weather.

“Everyone is busy today” she complains. “And Koizumi doesn’t want me back in the kitchen. Hey Hinata couldn’t you tell her that it’s Kazuichi’s fault, not mine ? I want to be part of the fun too.”

“Hum, I don’t know” says Hinata while thinking ‘hell no’. “It won’t take the whole day, right ? Everyone will be done shortly. Also there are still other people you could talk to.”

She groans and lowers her sunglasses.

“Even the weir… sorry, Komaeda seems busy. And not with you for once.” she says, before swallowing a yawn. “Saw him earlier with Babyface. They were trying to be sneaky, I guess. Pretty lame job, if you ask me but it’s not like I care.”

Hinata and Pekoyama exchanges curious looks, and Hinata isn’t sure if he should be worried that Komaeda is doing something ‘sneaky’ ( though Owari’s judgement isn’t always the most accurate ) or relieved that Kuzuryu is with him. Eventually Pekoyama shrugs, signaling that she doesn’t see any immediate danger in this new information, and he relaxes a little.

“We need to go” Pekoyama says. “I’m sorry, we will join you for lunch later”

Owari sighs and waves them goodbye while they run toward the supermarket. The fridges there are huge ones, used to stock enough food to feed hundreds of people, but they are mostly empty and unplugged. Hinata has to fiddle for a while with the different cables until one of the refrigerant box turns on, a low humming starting to fill the place.

“Here we go” says Hinata when everything is in the fridge. “Thirty minutes and it should be okay. I’m not sure it’s really worth it to go back to the hotel, we’ll be barely there that we will have to come back.”

Pekoyama nods.

“Yes, I’m fine with waiting here. You don’t have to stay with me, Hinata. It’s already nice of you to accompany me here.” She bows again, oh-so polite, and a little hesitant too

“I really, really don’t mind.” He loses himself in the contemplation of Pekoyama’s face, bathed by the fridge’s blue-ish light and his traitorous brain brings him another Pekoyama, eyes closed in her pod, Kuzuryu urging him to do _something, anything, i don’t care, wake her up_ , a very similar light filling the whole room.

And it hits him without warning. They are fine, all of them. And they are being selfish and stupid and anxious over the most ridiculous things but it’s worth it.

“I really don’t mind” he says again, his heart ridiculously full of affection for this girl he talked more in one day than since she woke up, and there is something good in it. “You’re not the worst person to spend some time with.”

She smiles. “For all it’s worth Hinata, you’re not the worst person to spend some time with either.”

They stay quiet for a few minutes, in a comfortable silence, and Hinata is ready to close his eyes and to drift into sleep, lulled by the uninterrupted purring coming from the fridge.

“Thank you for today, Hinata” Pekoyama ends up by saying, her voice almost a murmur.

“It’s alright” he chuckles. “I expect to be paid in chocolates, though. I take 10% of whatever we did.”

It’s a joke of course, even if he is only half-expecting Pekoyama to laugh, but she graces him with a pleased smile.

“You shouldn’t worry about that. From what I’ve heard you are going to get some chocolates no matter what.” She says.

He blinks. “Uh ? You’re kidding, right ?” He really didn’t expect that, and he isn’t sure what to think about it. “Who ?”

Pekoyama shrugs. “Not sure, honestly.” She tilts her head. “Does it matter ?”

“Not really ?” he bites his lower lip. “I just don’t want to reject anyone, you know ? The whole idea is pretty uncomfortable. I can’t see why any of the girls would want to give these to me.”

“You’re not that ugly” says Pekoyama, so seriously that he wants to laugh.

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“You’re welcome.”

*

After thirty minutes, the chocolates are done and they spend a few minutes unmolding them, appreciating that none of them fell apart, whether it’s thanks to luck or to Hinata’s talent of chocolatier.

“So that’s it” Pekoyama says once everything was put into a colored cloth bag.

“Yep, the rest is up to you.” Hinata smiles at her as reassuringly as possible but that doesn’t seem to have any effect on her.

They walk back to the hotel and Pekoyama stops in front of Kuzuryu’s cottage. It looks empty.

“I’m going to wait here” she says. “Please if you see him, could you avoid mentioning this ?”

“Yes, of course…” Hinata says. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I hope it will.”

He nods and lets her behind, throwing looks behind him without really thinking about it, watching Pekoyama becoming always more angsty and restless as she paces in front of Kuzuryu’s door. He wonders where he is, and if he is done with whatever he was doing with Komaeda. He also thinks that he will have to ask Komaeda what the hell they were doing for Owari to judge them suspicious. He know it was probably nothing but he wants to be able to laugh about it with him.

For some reason.

In the lobby, he finds Kuzuryu, walking down the stairs, his clothes smelling butter and cacao, a box in his hands, and he stares a few seconds before understanding what’s going on with him.

“Pekoyama is at your cottage !” he screams before he can help himself. “Run !” he isn’t sure why he adds that but after freezing for half-a-second, his friend nods and races out of the room, throwing a ‘thanks !’ at him, and letting an appetizing smell behind him.

Hinata laughs, a bubble of joy exploding in his chest.

_Liking someone too much isn’t the worst thing that can happen, uh ?_

Looks like he can be right, sometimes.

“Hinata ?”

He raises his head to see Komaeda, wide-eyes and crazier-than-usual hair, looking down at him from the top of the stairs.

“What are you doing here ? You seem happy. That’s good.” He laughs a little, raking a hand through his hair, messing it up even more and tainting it with some brown powder - cacao, he cleverly deduces.

“Yeah, you know what ? I think I am.” His smile just wouldn’t leave him and he isn’t complaining. “What are you doing ?”

“Uh ?” Komaeda tilts his head with curiosity. “ Right now, you mean ? Nothing special.”

“Wonderful. Did you eat something this morning ?”

His friend hesitates and Hinata’s smile widens a little when he images the imaginary turmoils Komaeda is in.

“Well, actually something weird happened, you won’t believe what I did this morning and…”

“Hinata interrupts him. “Good luck, bad luck, I get it. So you didn’t eat anything, right ? I should have guessed it.”

Komaeda smiles at him sheepishly. “Ah, I should have known that you weren’t interested in hearing about it. No, Hinata, I’m sorry I didn’t eat anything beside… ( he stops for a second and then the corners of his mouth turns into something more tentative, more genuine, too. Hinata thinks it suits him alright ) a piece of chocolate ? Ah, that’s embarrassing considering what day it is.”

“Wrong, I’m actually pretty interested in how you managed to get wrapped up into Kuzuryu’s plan, you know. We’ll talk about that while we eat, okay ?”

“Ah… yes. Thanks for worrying about me, as unnecessary as it is.”

Hinata shrugs and hurry up to join Komaeda into the restaurant.

“I’m amazing at doing unnecessary stuff, don’t underestimate me.”

He gets a chuckle out of this, and thinks that he should humiliate himself with this kind of joke a little more.

“I would never.”


	3. Epilogue

They are in the middle of their lunch when Koizumi comes blasting through the door, a frown on her face and immediately glaring at them. She is carrying a huge bag with her and Hinata can’t help but remember Pekoyama’s words about someone giving him chocolates.

“Finally ! I looked for you everywhere ! Were you hiding or something ? Hinata, didn’t I tell you that I wanted to talk to you ?” she says, barely stopping between her words to breath.

“Uh, sorry Koizumi” he says. “Tsumiki told me about everything that was going on and I didn’t know when you’ll be done.”

She sighs dramatically, throwing an impatient look at Komaeda.

“It doesn’t matter” She takes a plain box from the bag she is carrying and presents it to Hinata. “Here, happy Valentine’s Day.”

He slowly takes it, intimidated by the exasperated look that she is giving him. He has been scared that he would have to reject a crying Tsumiki or an oblivious Sonia, but now he worries that Koizumi would try to throw him by the window if he didn’t act the way she wanted to.

“Thanks” he says. “It’s nice.”

“As expected, Hinata !” Komaeda exclaims behind him, when he was pretty quiet during the whole exchange. “Koizumi, Hinata, I hope that your union will bring hope to us all..”

“Right” Koizumi says before turning toward Komaeda. “I have yours too. Here.”

Another box, though this one is orned with a pretty purple ribbon and a “For Komaeda” followed by a smiley is written on it with what looks like a gel pen.

Komaeda’s hands shake when he takes the box, and he keeps staring at it like if he can’t really process what it is.

“For me, really ? That’s… thank you, Koizumi, I’m sure they’ll be amazing !” he says.

“You’ll thank Mioda” she says “She is the one who made yours. Sonia made Hinata’s, by the way.” She sighs. “I still have to find Pekoyama, though, any idea where she is ? For some reason everyone on my list is hard to find.”

“No idea” replies Hinata. “You did chocolates for the girls too ?”

“Of course ! What’s this stupid tradition where girls have to do everything while boys enjoy their sweets ? Do you think it’s how it should be ?”

Hinata and Komaeda both shakes frantically their head, assuring her that it’s totally normal for girls to get chocolates too, probably overdoing it for it’s not a cause that they think that much, but with enough conviction to smoothen Koizumi’s expression.

“Well, I expect that you guys will make us chocolates next year, right ?” she says, and before any of them can reply, she is gone, probably looking for Pekoyama.

Silence falls on the room before Komaeda decides to open his own present, revealing some pretty normal, milk chocolate, not perfectly shaped but with a nice, rich color. Following him, Hinata opens his, and finds out that his chocolate is slightly different, darker, a little fancier-looking which is expected since it’s from Sonia. He smiles at Komaeda who still looks a little confused about someone giving him a gift.

“Hey, you’re lucky” he says “Milk chocolate is so much better than dark chocolate. Not that I’m going to say that to Sonia”.

And not only because he doesn’t want her to be angry or sad at him, but because he is just grateful that she gave her time to do something like that for him, not expecting anything in exchange, just for being nice and having fun with her friends while they are trying to not burn the island to the ground.

He is surprised when Komaeda offers him his chocolate, his face solemn and lovely.

“I have no problem with giving them to you” he says. “I’m sure Mioda won’t care, and I don’t particularly love chocolate anyway.”

His first impulse is to refuse, of course, because that’s just how the conversation is supposed to go for the two of them, but an idea blooms in his brain and he takes the chocolates from Komaeda’s hands, who smiles, pleased that Hinata went along with him, for once… until Hinata pushes the chocolates Sonia did for him against Komaeda’s chest.

“Then you take these. You like dark chocolate more, right ?”

“Hum…” he takes a few seconds before he picks the chocolates from Hinata’s hands, their fingers touching for a moment. “Thank you… I guess ?”

“Want to eat them on the beach ? We are done here.” Hinata says, looking at the rest of their meal. He wasn’t really hungry on the first place, but he didn’t want to just look at Komaeda while he was eating - it would be creepy as hell, even if he would have been the most creeped out between the both of them.

Sonia, Owari and Nidai are all in the lobby when they come down, sharing chocolates and laughing more or less gracefully at Nidai’s jokes, Kazuichi and Ibuki are out by the pool, Ibuki looking through her bag, obviously searching for Kazuichi’s chocolates but failing to find them - poor guy, thinks Hinata.

The most surprising thing happens when they reaches the beach, though. They are still quite far away from their usual spot when they realize it’s already taken.

Pekoyama and Kuzuryu are sitting there, facing each others, their feet buried in the sand, their chocolates discarded at their sides, and in the middle of a conversation that they can’t hear from where they are. Hinata thinks it’s better that way, for the look on their face is so intimate and vulnerable that walking on them making out would have been a lot less awkward.

Komaeda stops at his side, looking at the scene in front of them and how Kuzuryu takes Pekoyama’s hand and squeezes it so much that it must hurt, but her face never shows an hint of discomfort. The sun is shining brightly, turning the sea into a gigantic mirror, giving an unreal feeling to the whole picture, as if they were back in the simulation, just for a while.

Hinata feels something twists inside his stomach.

“Let’s go, Komaeda. We can find another place.”

“It makes sense, we can’t bother them like that” he follows Hinata who is going back to the hotel. “It’s sad, though, I liked this place. I thought of it as our beach, you know.” His voice isn’t sad at all, almost teasing really, but Hinata bumps Komaeda shoulder with his anyway.

“It’s still our place. I’m magnanimous and I think we can share for today but I’ll kick them out if they are still there tomorrow.” He replies, and then blushes furiously when he realizes what he says. It’s a little rude to assume that Komaeda will always follow him anywhere, anytime he wants, even if he kinda gets used to it. “Or you know, whenever you want to.”

Komaeda rolls his eyes at that.

“Don’t be silly, Hinata.”

Hinata shrugs and bumps Komaeda’s shoulder once again, with enough strength to push him from the path.

Whatever. Being silly is fine from time to time.


End file.
